Two main opposition parties of Nepal -- Nepali Congress (NC) and Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) -- have turned down the proposal to promulgate the new constitution by reviving the disbanded Constituent Assembly (CA).

The decision came yesterday hours after ruling Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal announced to promulgate the new constitution by reviving the CA.

A meeting of two parties convened at Baneshwor in the capital yesterday turned down the proposal to reinstate the disbanded CA and decided to go for a fresh election.

Before leaving for Belgium last week, Dahal, also a former prime minister, had proposed reviving the CA to both the NC and UML and promulgate the new constitution by incorporating all resolved issues.

According to UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal the procedure to conduct another election will be finalised by the to-be-formed government after the current government led by Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai steps down.

The NC and the UML came up with a common position a day after the self-imposed deadline from the major political parties to forge consensus on fresh polls expired.

Last month, the major political parties, who agreed to go for fresh polls, had assured President Ram Baran Yadav that they would come up with an agreement on CA elections and the formation of a national consensus government by mid-October.